Girl Meets Thirteen
by Pebblemist of LightClan
Summary: "Oh, but it's not just any birthday, Maya," Riley told her a-matter-of-factly. "It is possibly one of the most important birthdays I will ever have. My thirteenth birthday. And do you know what that means?" she didn't even give Maya a chance to answer before continuing on her little rant. "It means that I am a teenager now. I am one step closer to becoming an adult." Liley one-shot


**A/N: Hey, guys! Pebblemist here with a new one-shot for you guys! Hope ya'll had a great holiday!**

**So, recently I was re-watching Girl Meets Home For the Holidays when it occurred to me that they skipped Riley's thirteenth birthday! Now, that got me thinking. With my own thirteenth birthday coming up just around the corner, turning thirteen is a pretty important milestone in a girl's life. And with the show centered around growing up, I found it quite odd that they would just skip over her birthday like that. Maybe I'm the only one, but it kind of bothered me. So that's how the idea for this fic came to mind.**

**I'd like to give a HUMONGOUS thanks to Bethany Tucker for all of her help with this story. It wouldn't have been possible without her. So if you like this story, be sure to say thanks to her! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World or any of it's characters, nor do I own the lyrics to Blank Space. I only own the story.**

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><p><em>Girl Meets Thirteen: A Girl Meets World Fanfiction<em>

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><p>Each second that seemed to tick by regularly to any normal person seemed to last an eternity for her. And she had to wait approximately eleven-and-a-half minutes until she could officially call herself a teenager. If her math was correct, that was... 690 eternities. (not counting the few seconds it took to punch the problem in on the calculator on her phone)<p>

That's right. She was counting down the seconds.

Because it was 5:51 on Monday, December 8th, 2014. And in just over eleven minutes, at six o' three, Riley Matthews would be a teenager.

She sat cross-legged in her window, still in her pajamas, staring out over the city with her phone in her lap, anxiously awaiting the alarm she'd set to come on the instant she'd turned 13. There were dark circles under her eyes, but despite her obvious lack of sleep, she couldn't have felt any more hyper if she'd drank a cup of coffee the size of a Big Gulp.

The minutes slowly passed, and Riley, growing more excited by the second, found that unless she found something to distract her from her upcoming birthday, she could not sit still.

She leaned her head on the windowsill and looked out into the city. The sun had just barely risen, spreading a dark, milky light across the sky. Christmas lights were strewn throughout, twinkling in the darkness of the early morning and decorating the storefronts, helping to spread the Christmas cheer. Tiny white snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, sparkling like little diamonds drifting in the breeze, and then settling down in their own place.

_In a way, people are kind of like snowflakes, _Riley observed, her brown eyes wide in wonder. _Each and every one of us are different in some way or another, but we all have one thing in common. We're all kind of just drifting through life until we find our own place in the world. It's just not as frustratingly difficult for snowflakes as it is for us. _We _can't just ride on the wind._

She let out a sigh and checked the time on her phone. 6:01. Two minutes. _Two whole minutes. How am I ever going to wait that long? I'll end up driving myself crazy!_

Growing restless, she removed her slipper from her foot and threw it against the wall, though not very hard. It bounced off and landed on the floor with a soft, barely audible '_thump!'_

She stretched her limbs, grunting at the slight pain in her joints from keeping them in the same position for so long and stood up, going to retrieve the fluffy slipper and returning to the window. As she slid it back onto her foot, she couldn't help but let out an excited squeal.

_Today is the day, _she thought. _One of the most important days of my life. _She brushed a strand of her long brown hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear as the time on her phone shifted to 6:02. _The day people will start to treat me more like an adult. The day that I-_

"Happy Birthday, Riles!" the familiar face of her best friend suddenly popped up in the window, a large smile spread across her pale face.

Riley smiled. "It's not my birthday _yet, _Maya," she pointed out, showing her the time on her phone. "I wasn't born until until six o' three. But thanks!"

The blonde shook her head, exasperated. "Okay, so I was one minute off." she shivered and pulled her jacket closer to her. "Now will you let me in already? It's freezing out here!"

Riley laughed and opened up, letting her crawl through. It was the exact second that the window shut behind her that the time on the phone shifted to 6:03 and '_Happy Birthday_' blared through its speakers, which were obviously turned up to 100%.

Riley let out a loud, almost childlike squeal. "Maya! Do you know what this means?" she cried, jumping up and down like a little kid.

"... that it's your birthday?" Maya guessed, shrugging.

"Oh, but it's not just _any _birthday, Maya," Riley told her a-matter-of-factly. "It is possibly one of the most important birthdays I will ever have. My _thirteenth _birthday. And do you know what _that _means?" she didn't even give Maya a chance to answer before continuing on her little rant. "It means that I am a teenager now. I am one step closer to becoming an adult, to figuring out who I am going to be for the rest of my life, to-"

"Why can't you just let it be a birthday?" Maya asked, a small smirk forming at the corners of her lips.

Riley's shoulders drooped. "Don't you realize how important this is to me? This day is a _huge _milestone in my life. These next few years could very well be shaping me into the kind of person I'm going to be-"

Maya placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "Of course I understand, Riles," she said gently. "This is a big day for you. I got you something."

Riley smiled. "You didn't have to-"

"Yes I did," she interrupted as she pulled a small box out of her backpack and handed it to Riley. It was wrapped in notebook paper and lots of Scotch tape, and on top, written in pencil, was 'To my Little Plant."

She gently unwrapped the gift to reveal a plain cardboard box.

"Hurry up and open it!" Maya urged.

Riley opened the box, gasping in awe, she pulled out it's contents.

It was a silver bracelet with a charm shaped like a half of a heart. In tiny letters, the word 'Best" was carved into it. Speechless, she looked up at Maya, trying to speak, though no words would come out. She slipped it onto her hand.

Maya grinned from ear to ear and rolled down her sleeve to reveal an almost identical bracelet. The only difference was that the charm on hers was cracked on the opposite side, and etched into it was the word 'Friends.' She reached out and took a hold of Riley's wrist, connecting the two halves of the heart so that it read 'Best Friends.'

"I know it's not much," she said, "but-"

"I-I love it," Riley stammered, finally finding her voice. "But you-why-how..." her voice trailed off. She knew that Maya and her mother were usually hurting for money, so how could she have possibly afforded this?

Maya's face turned red as she realized what Riley was trying to say. "My dad actually sent me something for once," she told her. "A couple bucks. I saw these on sale-" she gestured to the bracelets- "And couldn't resist buying them."

Riley smiled and wrapped her BFF in a tight hug. "Well I love it. I couldn't have asked for anything better."

"Well I'm glad you like it, Riles," Maya said, her voice sounding strained. "Okay I can't breathe." Blushing, Riley let go. "That's better."

"Well, I have to get ready," Riley said. "Wanna listen to some music?" she asked, unlocking the screen on her phone without waiting for an answer.

"Sure," Maya said. "But can I tell you something?"

"I'm listening," Riley said as she typed something in the YouTube search bar. An ad for some 'Super Smash Bros.' game began to play in the background, but they ignored it.

"Just.. don't get your hopes up," Maya told her. "This whole teenager thing? It _sucks._ This next year? It's going to _suck._"

Riley snorted. "Yeah right," she scoffed, rolling her eyes as she skipped to her closet and opened the door. "Like I'm going to believe _that_."

Maya opened her mouth to reply, but in that instant the Super Smash Bros. ad finished and Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space' came blaring out through the speakers, and Riley felt the need to sing along word for word, _really_ loudly.

"_Nice to meet you_

_Where you been?_

_I could show you incredible things-"_

"-Riley?" she tried to interrupt.

_"Magic, madness, heaven, sin-"_

"-Riles!?"

_Saw you there and I thought oh my god_

_Look at that face, you look like my next mistake_

_Love's a game, wanna play?"_

And after picking out a cute outfit consisting of a navy blue dress, some brown leather boots, and a short denim jacket, she skipped out of the room to get ready, leaving Maya to talk to the closed door.

After getting ready, the two teenage girls made there way into the living room. The smell of fresh pancakes hit their noses as they neared the kitchen. Riley drew in a deep breath. Oh, how she loved that scent.

Grinning from ear to ear, she surveyed her family. None of them seemed to notice her. Auggie was completely absorbed in watching Mr. Googly, Topanga was in the kitchen making the delicious-smelling pancakes, and Cory had his nose in his newspaper.

"Daddy?" Riley asked, joy slowly creeping into her voice as her excitement bubbled up to the point where it was hard for her to contain. She put on a cutesy smile.

"How ya doin' honey?" he asked, not even glancing up from his morning paper.

Riley's face fell. "... Do you know what day it is?" she tried again, hoping beyond hope to ring a bell. She rebuilt that smile. He glanced up from his paper with a furrowed brow.

"Uh, 267 days till cyclone day?" he asked, sounding confused.

"NO" Topanga cut in from her place in the kitchen, practically screaming at her forgetful husband. "Cory Matthews! It's her birthday!"

The color drained from Cory's face as a flashed of panic washed over him. "Oh..." he said awkwardly. "Happy birthday, honey!

Trying to hide the fact that she was completely crushed, Riley mumbled a quick 'thank you,' grateful for her mother being there. It really stung that her own father would forget his firstborn child and baby girl's own birthday, especially one as important as her thirteenth birthday.

Auggie looked up from his show. "Happy birthday, Riley!" he said, flashing her a toothy grin. Riley smiled weakly.

"Thanks, Aug," she said with forced happiness. _Even Auggie remembers! _she thought, frustrated.

Topanga emerged from the kitchen with plates of pancakes in her hands. She set them down on the table and kissed Riley's forehead, pulling her into a hug.

"Happy birthday, honey," she whispered in her ear before taking her place at the table.

"Topanga!" Cory whispered, as if Riley and Maya were not sitting right there within earshot. "Not only did I forget her birthday, I forgot to get her a gift! What do I do?"

"Shh!" Topanga hissed.

Riley pretended not to hear them, much like she pretended that she didn't feel the tears stinging her eyes, threatening to bubble up and spill over. She tried to push the thoughts out of her head as she enjoyed her delicious pancake breakfast. She was _almost _successful in doing so, but the thought kept creeping its way back. Luckily, she and Maya were just getting finished when she couldn't hold her tears in anymore.

"Bye Mom, bye Dad, by Auggie!" Riley said quickly, sprinting out the door before she started to cry. Maya followed her, closing the door behind her.

"Riles," she said, her voice breaking. "You can't let this ruin your entire birthday, you just can't."

Riley sniffed, wiping away a tear. "I know... I just can't believe he forgot..."

"I know," Maya soothed. "But come on? What's the worst thing that can happen the rest of the day?"

Riley shrugged.

"Exactly. Now come on, before we miss the subway."

Riley took a deep breath. _I'm okay, _she told herself. _I'm okay... this is going to be a great day!_

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><p>The bell rang, and the students filed rushed out of the classroom. Cory erased the blackboard with a sigh. He still felt horrible for forgetting Riley's birthday.<p>

But part of him had _wanted _to forget that his baby girl was growing up. Each year that passed was just one small step closer to her walking out the door forever.

But the other, even bigger part of him knew that he had made a mistake, one that he could never make up for. Forgetting his daughter's thirteenth birthday was not something to take lightly. She was a teenager now, and he had forgotten. He wanted to bang his head against the wall.

He turned around to see that one student was still in the classroom. He furrowed his brow. _Lucas...? _he thought. _What's _he _still doing here?_

"Class is over, Mr. Friar," he pointed out. "You're going to be late for the next class."

"I know, sir," Lucas said, shifting his feet awkwardly. "But I have a plan for your daughter's birthday."

Cory raised an eyebrow. _What does he want with Riley? _"What do you have in mind, Friar?"

"Well, Maya texted me about how you forgot her birthday this morning, and I had been wanting to do something special for her for a little while now. The problem was figuring out what."

"... and?"

"And I was wondering if, to make up for what you did, you would like to help me plan something for her?" his voice rose as he spoke. Cory could tell he was excited about his idea.

He took a deep breath. "Riley seems to have taken a liking to you, Lucas," he said. Lucas's eyes widened, as if he were thinking '_Like like, or like as a friend?'_ "And I don't fully approve of it. But I have to accept the fact that my baby girl's growing up. And I don't want to ruin her big day more than I already have."

Lucas's green eyes widened, and he grinned from ear to ear. "So you'll do it, sir?"

Cory sighed and extended his hand. "I'm in. So what do you have in mind?"

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><p>"It's the week before Christmas break, we should be getting <em>less <em>homework, not _more," _Riley complained as she and Maya stopped by their lockers to drop off their books. They didn't need them for Art Class. Riley sighed. She just wanted this terrible school day to be over, so she could go home and enjoy her birthday.

_If that's even possible, _she thought. _I mean, m__y own father forgot my birthday. It might as well be chaos at home. That'd be way better than this._

"Wow, you're starting to sound like me," Maya told her. "Don't tell me you're going to start a homework rebellion," she teased, smiling. "Because take it from me; not a good idea."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "You know what? You were right this morning, about being thirteen being terrible." She shoved her books into her locker, scowling as her stomach growled. "I want to be twelve again."

Geralyn Thompson was out sick that day, and whoever had prepared the lunch had decided to make it extra inedible. Just the sight of the "food" had been enough to make Riley feel sick, so she had refused to even touch it. Now, she was beginning to regret the decision.

"Sorry, Riles. Afraid I can't help ya with that." Maya shrugged."I don't think anyone can."

"Come on, we're going to be late," Riley said, wanting to change the subject. She started to walk away when a familiar face came around the corner.

"Hey, Riley," Lucas greeted, flashing her with his gorgeous smile. His green eyes sparkled like emeralds. "Happy birthday."

"T-thanks, Lucas," Riley stammered, her heart fluttering, threatening to burst out of her chest.

"Are you having a good birthday so far?" he asked. The butterflies in Riley's stomach went wild.

_Not before, but now that you're here,YES! _Riley thought, although she would never in a million years even _think _about saying that out loud. "Kind of, I guess. Though I have _tons _of homework, and my own father forgot my birthday..." her voice trailed off as she stared at her feet.

"So _that's _why he was acting so strange around you in class today!" Lucas cried, his eyes widening in realization. "I'm so sorry! How could he forget something like that?"

Riley shrugged, shifting her feet awkwardly. "I don't know how, but he did," she said softly, fresh tears stinging her eyes. But she couldn't let herself cry. Not in school. Not front of Lucas.

Lucas wrapped her in a hug, and she temporarily forgot about all of her issues. She rested her head on his chest for a moment. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered into it.

"The day's not over yet," he told her. "We only have one more class left and then we'll be out of school, and you'll be able to celebrate properly. Don't let it ruin your day."

Riley smiled weakly. "Thanks, Lucas. I'll try not to."

"Ahem," Maya cleared her throat. "I _hate_ to interrupt you two lovebirds, but if we don't hurry we're going to be late for art."

Lucas laughed lightly as he pulled away. "Okay, okay, Maya. We're coming." He squeezed Riley's hand and mouthed that it was going to be okay.

Riley felt like she was going to melt at his touch, though as soon as he let go, all of her issues came rushing back to her. She tried to forget them, but they just wouldn't go away.

They made it into Ms. Kossal's classroom just before the bell rang. They quickly got out their supplies and sat down. As class started, Riley found it harder and harder to concentrate on anything other than the hollow feeling in her stomach.

Class had been going on for about ten minutes or so, and all Riley had managed to get done was a faint, oddly shaped circle that was supposed to be the base for a person's head and a cross in the middle, where she was supposed to line up the eyes and the mouth. The door creaked open and the person she least wanted to see came in.

"Sorry I'm late, Ms. Kossal," Missy Bradford cried hurriedly, grabbing her supplies.

"Oh, Missy, glad you could join us," the art teacher said. "You're just in time for starting the outlines of our sketches. Just take a seat.

Missy smiled sweetly and took the only empty seat. The one right next to Riley. Just her luck.

"Oh, hi, Riley, I didn't notice you there," Missy said with mock sweetness in her voice. "Today is your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Riley nodded, a feeling of unease making it's way down her spine. Missy was being nice. _Too _nice.

"Happy birthday!" Missy said with obviously fake cheerfulness. Maya looked up from her half-finished drawing.

"What do you want, Missy?" she snapped, narrowing her eyes furiously.

Missy pouted. "I'm only wishing your friend a happy birthday. Is that a crime?"

Maya hesitated. "Well, no, but-"

"But what?"

Maya sighed, defeated, and returned to her artwork. "I loathe you," she said, her voice coming out as a low growl.

Missy ignored her and peered over Riley's shoulder, blocking her light. Riley opened her mouth to ask her to move, but before a word would come out, Missy dropped her good girl act.

"So what's that? A Llama?"

Riley grit her teeth and shot her a glare. "_No," _she snapped. "It's a person, thank you very much."

"Oh, someone's in a bad mood," Missy said, flinching slightly.

"Look, Missy, it's been a long day. I'm _not _in the mood for this," Riley told her, trying to keep her voice as nice-sounding as she could. Missy pretended to be offended.

"Oh, I understand," she said. "You're a teenager now. Hormones, mood swings..." her sweet smile morphed into a smirk.

"Are you in seventh grade or seven years old?" Maya snapped, looking up from her drawing once more. She looked ticked.

"I could ask you two the same thing," Missy pointed out. She took another look at Riley's picture. "Do you know what will make that look better?" she asked, reaching for a paint brush. She unscrewed the lid on a jar of paint the same color pink as her sweater.

"No, and we don't want to know." Maya answered for her. Riley gave her a grateful look.

"That," Missy ignored them, and flicked the brush. There was now a large, bright pink blob in the middle of Riley's paper. The liquid slid down, covering up the picture.

"Hey!" Riley protested, turning to Missy and reaching out in an attempt to take the brush away. Missy flicked it once more, this time smearing paint onto Riley's face.

"Leave her alone!" Lucas cried, jumping up. Missy dipped the brush into the paint.

"Ooh, Riley, Pink is a great color on you. here, let me help you out." and she streaked Riley's face with the wet paint.

"Stop!" Riley cried.

Missy smirked and took the entire paint jar into her hands. Riley tried to get away but wasn't fast enough. The thick pink liquid washed over her head, running down her face and dripping onto her outfit. She let out a loud screech.

"Missy!" Ms. Kossal yelled. Boy, was she in big trouble. "Principle's office, now! And Maya, take Riley to the restroom to get washed up.

Missy sighed, glaring at the teacher. "Are you in seventh grade or seven years old?" she hissed, her voice filled with venom as she stalked out of the room.

Riley whimpered and wiped the paint from around her eyes. Tears began to stream down her face, and as quickly as she tried to wipe them away, more would replace them.

Maya took a hold of her hand. "Come on, Riles," she said gently. "Let's get you cleaned up."

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><p>The paint had dried pretty fast, although it washed off of her skin fairly easily. Her hair and clothes, not so much. And so, Riley was forced to finish out the day with pink hair and paint-stained clothes. It was terrible.<p>

After what seemed like ages, the final bell rang. Students got up and cleaned up their areas before leaving the art room. The school day was finally over. Maybe the day would start looking up from there.

"Can't take you home today, Riles," Maya said as they exited the classroom. "I got detention."

Well, so much for the day getting better.

"What did you do to get detention, Maya?" Riley asked, narrowing her eyes.

"More like what didn't I do. I didn't do my homework. Again."

Riley sighed and shook her head. "Will you come over afterwards? I have a feeling I'll need you later."

Maya smiled. "Of course, I will, my little plant." she nudged her in the ribs and pointed down the hallway, where a certain cowboy was heading toward them. "Why don't you ask the cowboy to walk you home?" she have her a wink as she walked away.

Riley smiled weakly as she waved. "Bye, Maya."

She took a deep breath and headed in Lucas's direction. She brushed a strand of her now pink hair out of her eyes.

"Hey, Lucas," she said, smiling cutely up at him.

"Hey Riley," he said. "I'm terribly sorry 'bout Missy."

"Thanks," Riley looked down. "Missy will be Missy, I guess."

Lucas put his arm around her. "I hope she didn't ruin your day." he whispered. Her heart fluttered a bit.

Riley scoffed, smiling at his gentleman-ness. "My hair is pink. My outfit is ruined. My dad forgot my birthday. How much more has to happen before you let my day be ruined?"

"A lot more than this, ma'am," he said, making the butterflies in her stomach go wild with his charming smile. "Now why don't I walk you home, since Maya can't."

Riley rested her head against his chest. The thumping of his heartbeat reached her ears. She smiled. "I would love that," she told him.

The cowboy and the birthday girl made their way through the hallways and out the door without a word. They didn't really need to talk. They were simply basking in the glow of each other's presence. Arm and arm, they made their way through the city.

Snowflakes drifted from the sky. If one were to look at them from a certain place, the sunlight would catch them, making them sparkle like diamonds, falling down like tiny fragments of a shooting star. The sight left Riley breathless.

"It's so pretty!" she gasped in awe, grabbing Lucas's arm and squeezing it tightly.

"It is, isn't it?" Lucas said, laughing at her childlike innocence.

"I'm glad you're with me," Riley told him softly. Lucas smiled and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a tight hug.

"It's my pleasure," he said, to which she responded with a contented sigh. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Lucas's phone buzzed. He pulled away and checked it, the slipped it back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" Riley asked curiously, blinking up him with wide brown eyes.

"Nothing. Just my mom. I told her that I was taking you home."

"Okay," Riley said with a shrug, believing him. She looked at the time on her phone. "We should hurry. My mom probably wants to spend time with me, you know," she mumbled awkwardly, her face turning red.

The two continued walking, and it wasn't long before they were standing outside of Riley's brownstone apartment building. After Lucas checked his phone one more time, ("I thought I heard it buzz," he explained) they made their way up to Apartment #26.

Lucas seemed to tense as she placed her hand on the doorknob. She turned around and gave him a quizzical look. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Riley twisted the knob and the door creaked open. She stepped inside.

It looked completely deserted. All of the lights were turned off. If she didn't live there, it would have been almost creepy.

"H-hello?" Riley asked as she felt her way to the light switch. "Anyone home?"

No answer.

The second she flipped on the lights, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

A chorus of "SURPRISE!" reached her ears, and, out from various hiding places, Cory, Topanga, Auggie, and Maya popped out. Tears of joy spilled over.

"Happy birthday, Riles!" Maya said, grinning from ear to ear.

Riley's mind raced. "But you said you had detention...!" she cried.

"It was all his plan," Maya said, pointing to someone behind her. "He's been planning it all day. We were all in on it."

Riley whirled around. Lucas stood in the doorway, staring at his feet awkwardly. Her heart did a backflip and her stomach twisted into a knot.

"You.. you did all of this... for _me_?" she asked meekly. A bright smile graced her features as he nodded, contradicting the tears that steadily streamed down her cheeks.

"Yeah," he said, looking around at the family. "I had help, though... I couldn't have done it without them."

Riley didn't care. She practically flew to him, flinging her arms around him and staring into his emerald green gaze. "Thank you," she whispered. "This is the best birthday ever."

Lucas blushed. "I'm glad." he told her. She let out a contented sigh.

The celebration went on for a couple of hours. It was as the party was dying down that Lucas and Riley were sitting on the couch. Riley's head was resting on his shoulder, and her closed eyes and half-open mouth indicated that she had fallen asleep. Lucas smiled down at her.

Cory came and sat down next to them. He gave them a long look. "Mr. Friar?" he asked after a minute or so.

"Yes, sir?" Lucas asked.

He took a deep breath. "You know that I don't fully approve of your relationship with my daughter," he told him. "But, I truly appreciate you making this a special day for her."

Lucas smiled. "It's no big deal, sir. I care for your daughter... a lot. It was an honor to make this a good day for her."

Cory considered that for a second. "Maybe letting her grow up isn't so bad after all," he said quietly as he stood up.

Lucas waited for him to continue, but he didn't. Instead, he just walked away. He sighed and looked down at Riley's sleeping face. She smiled in her sleep.

A relieved feeling washed over him. Her day hadn't been ruined after all.

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><p><em>THE END<em>

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><p><strong>AN: So what do you think? I'm really proud of myself. This is the longest one-shot I've written in my entire life! I'm pretty proud of myself, although I could not have accomplished a story half as good as this if it weren't for Bethany Tucker.**

**Well, hope ya'll had a great holiday! I'll see you around!**

**~Pebblemist**

**PS: If you would please leave a review on the way out it would mean the world to me! :)**


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